LeBron James’ 14 best teammates in 14 seasons, ranked

Given the way that LeBron James has dominated in the first two reounds of the playoffs -- while now in his 14th NBA season -- there's an argument to be made that he'll be the greatest of all time when all is said and done.

In going back and looking at the players he's had as teammates over the years, that case becomes even stronger.

Here's a ranking of LeBron's 14 best teammates, one for each of his NBA seasons. And be sure to take notice of just how quickly the talent pool he's played with begins to thin out.

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14

C Shaquille O'Neal, 2009-10, Cavaliers

In an effort to shore up the roster in advance of LeBron's final season under contract, the Cavaliers acquired a 37-year-old Shaquille O'Neal in trade from the Phoenix Suns. Shaq was coming off of an All-Star year, one in which he appeared in 75 regular-season games -- more than he had at any time during the previous eight seasons.

Shaq was no longer Shaq, of course, and averaged 12 points and 6.7 rebounds in the penultimate year of his career. O'Neal missed five weeks late in the season with a broken hand and believes to this day that the 2010 Cavaliers could have won it all had he remained healthy. Instead, they were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, and LeBron bolted Cleveland for Miami as an unrestricted free agent.

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13

SF Antawn Jamison, 2009-10, Cavaliers

The Cavaliers traded for Jamison in the middle of the 2009-10 season to try to get LeBron some legitimate scoring help in his final year under contract. Jamison delivered by finishing second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.8 points in 25 regular-season appearances, but Cleveland was bounced by the Celtics in the second round of the playoffs, and LeBron took his talents to South Beach.

12

PG Mo Williams, 2008-10, 2015-16, Cavaliers

Williams was the second-leading scorer for the 2009 Cavaliers team that made it to the Eastern Conference finals. He averaged 17.8 points in 35 minutes per game and made the All-Star team for the lone time in his 13-year NBA career. He came back to Cleveland as a 33-year-old reserve for the 2016 team that won an NBA title.

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11

SG Larry Hughes, 2005-08, Cavaliers

Hughes played 13 NBA seasons for eight different teams and was LeBron's teammate in Cleveland for less than three full years. But when the Cavaliers finally broke through and made it to the Finals in 2007, Hughes was the team's second-leading scorer, averaging 14.9 points in 37.1 minutes per game.

10

PG Mario Chalmers, 2010-14, Heat

Chalmers was the starting point guard for the bulk of LeBron's four years with the Heat and could oftentimes be seen getting yelled at on the court by his teammates whenever he made a mistake. He was extremely solid in the role, if unspectacular -- but averaging in the 27-28-minute-per-game range for two championship teams certainly counts for something.

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9

C Anderson Varejao, 2004-10, 2014-16, Cavaliers

Varejao came into the league the year after LeBron did and remained with the Cavaliers through the King's stint in Miami. Varejao was still there when LeBron returned but was traded in the middle of the 2015-16 season as part of the deal that brought Channing Frye to Cleveland. The Warriors ended up signing him to a late-season deal, which made for an odd on-court look as Varejao was opposite LeBron at times during the 2016 NBA Finals.

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8

SF James Jones, 2010-14 (Heat), 2014-present (Cavaliers)

LeBron has been to the NBA Finals in each of the last six seasons -- and so has James Jones. The man they call "Champ" is also the one LeBron has called the greatest teammate he's ever had despite the fact that Jones has been merely a high-percentage 3-point shooter who's never averaged double-digit scoring at any point in his 14-year career.

Every championship-caliber team needs a veteran locker room leader who has the respect of his teammates, and Jones has filled that role to perfection on LeBron's teams for the past seven seasons.

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7

C Tristan Thompson, 2014-present, Cavaliers

Thompson found himself in the national spotlight near the end of the regular season after an on-court spat with LeBron, but that's the opposite of how he's conducted himself in three years at James' side. The Cavaliers' big man has done nothing but crash the boards and defend, while never complaining about a lack of offensive touches as an integral part of a stacked Cleveland roster.

6

C Zydrunas Ilgauskas, 2003-10 (Cavaliers), 2010-11 (Heat)

Big Z was the starting center for the Cavaliers in LeBron's first six years in the league and joined James in Miami for the first season of James' four-year run with the Heat.

His best statistical season with LeBron was 2004-05, when he averaged 16.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots to earn the second and final All-Star nod of his career.

5

SG Ray Allen, 2012-14, Heat

Allen's former Celtics teammates still don't talk to him to this day after he left Boston to ring-chase with Miami for the final two seasons of his career. But as a member of the Heat, Allen did a lot more than simply tag along for the ride.

In Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals, Allen hit one of the biggest shots in history by draining a corner 3-pointer that prevented San Antonio from closing out the series. Without that shot, LeBron wins only one title in Miami and his overall record in the championship round for his career looks a whole lot worse.

4

PF Kevin Love, 2014-present, Cavaliers

Despite being the constant subject of trade rumors from almost the moment he arrived in Cleveland, Love has managed to block out the noise and fit in with LeBron and the rest of his teammates about as well as possible.

Love gives the Cavaliers what they need when they need it and just had his best statistical season with the team since coming to Cleveland in 2014. He averaged 19 points and 11.1 rebounds this season, and let's not forget that he's the one who locked up Stephen Curry at the end of a Game 7 victory in the 2016 NBA Finals.

3

PF Chris Bosh, 2010-14, Heat

Bosh came to Miami at the same time LeBron did and was a key component of the Heat teams that made four straight Finals appearances and won consecutive championships in 2012 and 2013.

Despite taking on a reduced role from the one he had in his Toronto days, Bosh was an All-Star in all four seasons he played alongside LeBron and Dwyane Wade, and Miami wouldn't have won those titles without him.

2

PG Kyrie Irving, 2014-present, Cavaliers

LeBron was off chasing titles in Miami when Irving came into the league as a 19-year-old rookie in 2012, but the point guard has now emerged as the second-best player on the team -- one who is capable of taking over whenever James isn't inclined to do so himself.

Irving averaged a career-best 25.2 points per game this season and hit what was effectively the game-winner in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals.

1

SG Dwyane Wade, 2010-14, Heat

When LeBron came to Miami in 2010, Wade already had a championship to his name and was well on the way to the Hall of Fame. But after that first season together, when he essentially kept pace with James in terms of carrying the scoring load, injuries and a general overall decline made it tough to continue in that role. Wade did more than enough, however, to make sure they made it to four straight Finals together, winning two titles along the way.